Former Madoff employees naive and foolish, but not guilty of fraud: defense lawyers

Five former employees of Bernie Madoff were duped by the master Ponzi schemer, according to their defense lawyers.

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Bernard Madoff

The closing arguments for five of Madoff’s former employees wrapped up after nearly 20 hours. The former aides are accused in U.S. District Court in Manhattan of faking documents and trades to help Madoff bilk clients of billions of dollars over decades.

Lawyers argued that Madoff was a master con man and liar, and his loyal employees unwittingly followed instructions, according to media reports.

The government will present closing arguments on Thursday before the jury begins deliberations after hearing almost five months of testimony. Thousands of pages of evidence were introduced in the case and several of the defendants took the witness stand.

Most notably, accused portfolio manager Annette Bongiorno cried on the stand and told jurors she believed everything Madoff told her and never questioned him. Bongiorno called the convicted felon a “big brother” to her and said she didn’t understand she was breaking the law when backdating trades based on Madoff\’s instructions.

She was just 19 when she was hired as a secretary and worked for Madoff for several decades until the Ponzi scheme was discovered.

Bloomberg

Annette Bongiorno, frmr secretary to Madoff

\”She may be naive, she may be foolish,” said Roland Riopelle, the lawyer for Annette Bongiorno. “But her naiveté is not nefariousness. Her foolishness is not a fraud.\”

The government’s star witness in the case, former Madoff right-hand man Frank DiPascali, told jurors during his 14-day testimony, that the fake trading had gone on at the firm for “as long as I can remember.”

DiPascali was also hired at age 19.

Defense lawyers have attempted to discredit DiPascali, describing him as \”a con man\’s con man,\” \”toxic,\” \”sick,\” \”a master manipulator,\” \”a pathological liar\” and \”in a whole new category of liar\” during the trial, according to a report in Reuters.

The jury could start deliberating as soon as Friday after U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain gives t instructions. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 211 years.

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